Folding carton



Jan. 8; 1924.

Filed sept. V1o '1918] 2 sheets-sheet 1 lim/KEW? Jan. s, 1924. 1,480,358

G. M. WRTZ FOLDING CARTON Filed Sept. l0, 1918 2 Sheets-Shea?l 2 Geary@J@ mreg citizen of the United States, residin at St.

Patented Jim.'` s. 1924. j

UNITED S'livrasN PATENT' OFFICE.

enonenm. Wm'rz, or sr. PAUL, MINNnsora 'EOLDlNc CARTON.

v VApplication led September 10, 1918.. Serial No. 253,478.

To aZZavwm z'v' may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE M. VIRTZ, a

Paul, in the county of Ramsey and tate-'of Minnesota, have invented anew anduseful Improvement in Folding Cartons, of which the following isa specification.

My invention pertains to foldin cartons l which are preferably made ofcar board or other suitable material, to give a strong` light weightcarton, which can be packed flat so as to require only a small spacewhenit is knocked down or folded together for shipment or storage, whilewhen the vcarton is opened and put together it makes a suitablecontainer tc be used -asY a shipping carton or box for anydesiredpurpose.

The primary object is in means for lock- I ing the box sealed so thatthe contents of the same can not be tampered with, without destroyingthe seal or a portion of the carton.

The locking means also forms strengthenin@ means atv the corners of thecartons,

allbwing the same to carr a considerable weight without danger of t ecarton `coming apart in shipment. vMy carton is formed with reinforcingmeans about its ends, the

rtionof a carton before the closures have een attached thereto.

lFigure is aperspective view of the clos- {lureforeither end ofthecarton.

.Figure '4 i'sja cross-sectional detail 'of a portion of the carton. i

Figure' isv aV .perspective view ofa detail-'of eport-ion of the carton.

Figure 6 is al side elevation of al detailed portion ofthe carton.

Figure 7 is across section on the line 7- of A.Figure 6. 'y

Figure 8 is ay side elevation of a detailed .portion ofthe carton, .I

Figure 9 is a crees section on the line 9--9 of Fi 8.

Figum 1 is a perspective of n detailed portion, illustrating analternative construction;

Fi re 11 is a perspective yview of a detaile portionof an alternativeconstruction.

In the drawing, the carton A is formed ,of cardboard, corrugatedboard,'or`other suitable'material, having a body portion` 1 which issecured together by'means of the staples 2, in the ordinary manner, sothat the walls 3` 4 5- and 6 are adapted to form the sidewalls rof Vthecarton A same is set up for use. f v

The walls of the cartonA a-re formed with flaps 7, which areapproximately thesame' length as the width of the walls, and bysuit-able scoring at the upper and lower edges of the walls the flapscan be hinged when the so as to be bent downward to lie parallel andadjacent to the outer surface of the wall to which they are attached. Alocking member 8, formed of thin sheet met-al, or A other' suitablematerial, is secured to the ends of the aps 7 of the opposite 'walls'Band 5 by means,` of the engaging points 9, so as to rigidly secure thelocking member 8 to the flap 7.v The member 8'is formed with an engagington e 10 which projects beyond the edge of t e flaps 7 when the member 8is attached thereto, and the tongue 10 is formed with engaging barbslland' l2, the points of which project toward each other. The barb 11projects from one side lor face of the tongue 10, while the barb 12projects from the other side or face of the tongue. The apex of each ofthe barbs 11 and l2 is bent inwardly so as to lie approximately parallelwith the face of the l tongue 10 from which they project, the purpose ofwhich 4will be hereinafter described. The barbs l1 and 12, together withtheengaging points 9` arev formed integral with the locking member 8 bypunching them out of the same in the ordinary manner. l

The locking members 8 are attached to the ends ofthe flaps 7 of theopposite walls 3 and 5 when the boxis in the course of manufacture orconstruction,l and the tongue 10 projects in the same plane with thebody of the attached portion ofthe lirnember 8 so that thernember 8,with the tongue 10, lie flat in the same plane to allow packing of thecarton A when .folded together or in a knocked down state. The lockingmembers 8 are scored transversely along the line 13, and may also be'formed with notches 14 on either side of the member, and in line withthe scored line 13 adapted to be closed by members 15 which are formedof cardboard or other suitable material, preferably similar to thematerial that the body portion 1 of the carton is' made of, -thusforming'a carton of uniform construction when it is put together. `Themembeis 15 are rectangular in shape,- and the body portion 16 of thesame is approximately the same size as the opening 1n the top and bottomand the body portion 1 wien the same is set upl in rectangular shape.The bot y portion 16 of the member 15 is formed wlth double flaps 17 and18 which project, and are formed integral from the four sides of thebody portion, the -iaps'17 and 18 being approximately the same length asthe sides of the body portion 16. B means of suitable longitudinallyexten ing scoring between the flaps 17 and 18 and between the flaps 17and the body portion 16, the liaps 17 and v18canbe folded or hingedtogether so as to befolded to` lie parallel to each other and so thatthe aps 17 and 18, when folded, can be positioned to extend at rightangles from the body portion 16. -The flaps 17 and 18 are a trifle widerthan the Hap 7,` and are adapted to engage the flap 7 between the innersurface of the liaps 17 and 18 when the carton A is put together, asillustrated in Figures 1 and 4. Two of the flaps ,17 which arepositioned opposite to each other from the body portion 16, are formedwith projecting guards 19 which are formed integralv with the flaps 17,and by suitable scoring can be bent to extend at right angles to theends of the flaps 17. The guards or tongues 19 are formed with a curvededge 2O and an opening or hole 21, the purpose of which will behereinafter describl'ed. The guards 19 are preferably slightly narrowerthan they;` width of the flaps 17 to allow for folding` when the cartonis put to ther.j

The fiaps 7 projecting rom the opposite sides 4 and 6`of the bodyportion 1 are formed with holes or openings 22 near their ends. When thebody portion of the carton A is setup and it is desired to close thecarton with the members 15, the iaps 17 carrying the guard 19 are foldedover the aps 7 carrying the locking member 8, the

4locking member 8 having been bent to a right angular shapebefore theHap 7 is engaged by the tiaps 17 and 18, so that the guard 19 can befolded over the tongue 10 of the right angular locking member 8 rand thebarb 11 brought into engagement with the hole 21 so as to hold the guardor ton 1e 19 in osi'tion on the tongue 10. The a jacent aps 17 and 18are then folded over the flap 7, having the holes 22 near its ends,

into close proximity to the wall of the body portionlof the carton, asillustrated in F ig ures 5 and 6. Thel curved edge 20 allows the guardto slide easily into position when bei .at the cornerv of the carton Abeing closed,

at the start of 'being inserted between the ends of the ,apr 17 and 7,and Figure 6 illustrates the tongue 10 in locking position with the barb12 engaging in the o ening 22. The locking member 8 tends to orm areinforcement atl the corner of the box strengthening the same, and isprotected by the guard 19, so that it is practically impossible to openthe box Without tearinfr the hole 22 tosuch an extent that it wil notagain hold the locking means in position to lock the folded andinterlocked flaps 7, 17

jand 18 together at the corners to seal the box. The guards 19 alsoconceals the locking means, giving a very effective locking device whichcan not easily be tampered with. Each of the corners of the folded flapsare locked together in the same manner by means of the locking member 8,and when theopenings of the carton Aare closed by the .members 15 thecartonis entirely sealed and can not be opened without breaking the sealor locking means. .In this man- 'ner the carton A is'locked withoutadhesive tape or other gluing means, and the folded lll) fiaps ormembers 17 and 18 of the members 1.7 form a convenient shoulder by whichthe carton A can be engaged to carry onhandle l the same duringshipment. Y

The upper and lower flaps on the body portion 1 of the carton A areidentical and the carton is closed by two members or closures, such as15, which areiidentlcal 1n form and shape. :It is essential, however,that the flaps 7 of the opposite walls carry the locking members 8 ontheir ends, and that the aps 7 on the other opposite walls of the cartonare formed with openings 22'. It is also necessary that the covers 15have a pair of opposite flaps, such as 17, which carry the guards 19, anopening twenty-one being formed in each of the guards' for engagementwith the 'barbs 11 of the locking member. The locking member 8is not bent into right angular shape until it is desired to set upthecarton to be used as a container.

The double folding flaps 17 and 18 interlock with and enga e the ila s7, and when these interlocked an folded aps are locked together at theircorners by means of the locking member 8 the flaps lie against theoutev` surface of the walls of the carton A and form a reinforcement forthe carton about its upper and lower edges, giving a t light weight,strong and durable carton.

Figures -10 and 11 illustrate details of an alternative lconstruction oflocking means, Where a flat, plate like locking member 24 is secured tothe pairs of flaps .7 of the opposite walls at their ends in a similarmanner as the members 8 and the locking plate 24 is formed 'withengagingl barbs 25 which are adapted to engage in the openings or holes26 formed in the guard or tongue 19. In this construction 'the guard ortongue 19 holds the folded vflaps 7, 17 and 18 together at each of thecorners, and is adapted for use on light weight cartons where acomparatively light content is to be contained in 'the same. However,the tongues 19 in the construction illustrated in Figure l0 can be madesufciently strong to carry a considerable strain and thus lock and holdthe carton A locked at its corners, if it is desired. The tongue 19 inthis construction is inserted between the flaps 17 and the flaps 7 so asto engage the barbs 25 in the holes 26 when the flaps 17 and 18 arefolded over the flaps 7. The barbs 25 formed on the locking member 24project in the'same direction and from the same face having theirlapexes bent to extend in a similar' manner as the barbs 11 and 12. Whenthis construction of locking means is used on a carton it vis alsoimpossible to open the carton without destroying the locking means.

In each of the constructions illustrated, the locking means is formed bya locking member havin'g sharp barbs which are adapted to engage in aholeor recesses formed in a portion of the carton, and the carton canonly be opened by destroying or breaking the seal or locking meanssufficiently so that it would be impossible to again use the samelocking means to hold the box sealed. The preferred construction oflocking means having the right angular member 8 strengthens the cartonat its corners, putting most of the strain on the angular locking memberat the corner in place` of on the tongue 19, as is the case inthe'alternative construction'. The tongue 19, in, the preferredconstruction, tends to form a against the locking member In accordancewith the I have described the pr'incip 8 patent statutes, "i es ofoperation of my invention, together with the'apparatus which I nowconsider tov represent the` best vembodiment thereof, but I.- desire to'vhave it' understood 'that the construction shown is onlyillustrative,and that the invention can be carried out. byother meansand applied to uses other than those abovel ao set forth within thescope of the' following" claims:

` 1. In a Afolding carton havingabddy portion, a series of flaps formedon said bodyportion, at the upper and lower edges'of the same, closuresfor said body portiona series f 1 of double flaps formed on saidclosures, locking means secured to the end of the Qp- I posite pairstion, said double aps being adapted-'to en gage the flaps formed Ionsaid body 'ortion f between the inner sides of said doub said bodyportion, and said locking i being adapted to lock saidseries of doubleand body flaps together in interlocked and folded position to close andseal said carton, said locking means being concealed between said flapsto prevent exposure or tampering with the same.

2. In a folding carton having a folding body portion, closures for theends of said body portion, a series of folding flaps formed on said bodyportion and said closures, which are adapted to interlock with eachother when said carton is set up, means for locking said folding andinterlocked flaps together :it the corners of said lcarton, and meansformed integral with said closure flaps for concealinosaid locking meansfor the purposesspecifiaed.

3. In a folding carton having a body portion, closures for the ends ofsaid body portion, a series of flaps formed on said body portion, aseries of double flaps formed on said closures, locking means secured tothe opposite pairs of said flaps on said bod portion which are adaptedjacent ends of the flaps formed on said body portion, guard means formedon the ends of the opposite pair of said double flaps for concealingsaid locking means, and means for engaging said guards to hold the samei i 1n close proximity to said locking means.

4. In a carton of the class described having a folding body portion,closures for the ends of said body portion, ay series of folding a sformed about the edges of the ends of sai body portion, a series ofdouble folding flaps formed on said closures,and engage' fiaps` l tointerlock with and engage said lapson'v mea-ns' to engage the a I ingmeans secured to the ends of the opposite pairs of said flaps on saidbody. portion, which are adapted to be inserted between the sides of theadjacent ends of the iiaps to enga e and lock said flaps in folded andinterloced position to close or seal said carton, for the purposesspecified.

5. In a carton of the class described' having a folding body portion,closures for the open ends of said body portion, a series of hingedflaps projecting from the ends of said body portion, a series of hingedand folding iiaps on said closures rWhich are adapted to be folded oversaid fiaps` on said body portion to interlock said flaps on saidclosures with the flaps on said body portion, locking means for lockingsaid interlocked flaps together to seal s aid carton and tongues' formedon said closure flaps for concealing;

said locking means.

6. In a carton of the class described which is adapted to be folded intoa fiat thin state, a body portion, a closure for said body portion, jinterlockingmean's formed on said body -nndfclosure portion including anumber .of flaps which are adapted to be interlocked whens'ai'd closure1s in position to close said carton, lockingk tongues extending betweensaid aps for holding saidA interlocking means in folded position, saidlocking tongues being-'positioned at the corners of said carton andforming a strengthening means for said carton at its corners.

7. A carton of the class described which is adapted to be folded ,intoa-lat, thin state when collapsed, a body portion, a closure for saidbody portion, interlockingv iaps formed on said body portion and closureand means secured" to said flaps at the corners of said carton adaptedto'be concealed by said aps to lock said flaps and carton at the cornerswith the interlocked flaps folded flat against the side Walls of thebody por-- tion of said carton to form a compact carton when concealed.4

8. A carton having an opening formed with flaps adjacent said opening, aclosure member provided with hinged 'flaps adapted. to fold around thefia-ps on said carton, lockinglmeans secured to the corners of saidcarton flaps adapted t0 slide in between said closure and carton aps toholdv the same in place.

GEORGE M. WIRTZ.

